Weekly Release #4
10/8/2002 12:00:00 AM | Men's Cross Country
Upcoming Schedule
Friday, Oct. 11 -- at Michigan Intercollegiate (Milford, Mich.), 3:30 p.m.
Saturday, Oct. 19 -- at NCAA Pre-Nationals (Terre Haute, Ind.), 11:35 a.m. EST/CDT
This Week
The University of Michigan men's cross country team travels to Milford, Mich., this Friday (Oct. 11) for the 26-team Michigan Intercollegiate hosted by the University of Detroit-Mercy at Kensington Metropark. The No. 19 Wolverines will run in the 4,000-meter race to build speed and hone their strategy. Juniors Tom Greenless (Milford, Mich./Milford HS) and David Sage (Clarkston, Mich./Clarkston HS) will represent the Maize and Blue in the 8,000-meter open.
Shootout at the 4K Corral
Michigan head coach Ron Warhurst will enter the Wolverines in the 4,000-meter race at the Michigan Intercollegiate so that the team will be used to running quickly early in their longer races. In contrast with the normal 8,000-meter races, the 4,000-meter event will be more like a sprint than an endurance race. "We're working on strategy," Warhurst said. "The reason we're running the 4,000 is because I wanted them to get used to keeping a quick pace early on in our longer races. On Friday I want them to pin their ears back and go."
Previous Meet
Michigan took second place at the Notre Dame Invitational last Friday (Oct. 4) with 80 points. Stanford, the nation's top-ranked squad, was the only team ahead of the Wolverines, at 33 points. The Wolverines were led across the finish line for the second straight week by sophomore Nathan Brannen (Cambridge, Ontario/Preston HS), who finished seventh with a personal-best time of 24:38. Freshman Nick Willis (Lower Hutt, New Zealand/Hutt Valley HS) placed 10th, setting his personal best at 24:43.
Tarn Takes Another Step
Sophomore Tarn Leach (East Jordan, Mich./East Jordan HS) has lowered his 8,000-meter personal best in each of the Wolverines' three scored meets this season. Leach lowered his time by 13 seconds at the Notre Dame Invite (Oct. 4) to 25:10. Leach topped his 2001 personal best by 10 seconds in the Wolverines' first meet of the season at the Spartan Invitational (Sept. 22) and then lowered it another 21 seconds, from 25:44 to 25:23, in his third-place finish at the Central Collegiate Championship (Sept. 27).
Brannen's Best
Nathan Brannen set a personal best with his performance at the Notre Dame Invitational. Brannen was the first Wolverine across the finish line, in seventh place with a time of 24:38. Brannen's fastest time prior to Notre Dame was 24:59 at the Wolverine Interregional (Oct. 14, 2001).
Nick of Time
Freshman Nick Willis improved his personal-best time in an 8,000-meter race by 12 seconds at the Notre Dame Invitational. Willis finished 10th with a time of 24:43. His previous best came Sept. 20 at the Michigan State Open (24:55).
An Eye on the Polls
Michigan improved six spots to No. 19 in the most recent MONDO Cross Country Poll. The rank is the highest the Wolverines have climbed this season. The Maize and Blue had previously peaked at No. 23 in the Sept. 23 poll. Michigan is fifth in the MONDO Great Lakes Regional rankings.
MONDO NCAA Division I Poll (10/9/02)
Rank, School Points Prev 1. Stanford (10) 444 1 2. Arkansas (5) 434 2 3. Colorado 418 3 4. Northern Arizona 410 4 5. Oregon 384 5 6. Eastern Michigan 360 7 7. Georgetown 339 8 8. Villanova 334 6 9. Weber State 323 9 10. Wisconsin 319 10 11. Brigham Young 309 11 12. Colorado State 286 13 13. Minnesota 259 14 14. Providence 256 15 15. North Carolina State 254 16 16. Iona 199 17 17. Indiana 179 22 18. Central Michigan 161 19 19. MICHIGAN 159 25 20. William & Mary 155 20 21. Dartmouth 146 18 22. Butler 135 12 23. Arizona State 115 21 24. Notre Dame 104 23 25. Duke 102 24 26. Oklahoma State 74 28 27. Montana State 71 NR 28. New Mexico 47 27 29. Texas 35 29 Utah State 35 NR
Contact: Andrew Ladd (734) 763-4423
Players Mentioned
